Is David Eigenberg Leaving Chicago Fire? What Happened to Herrmann?
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First Gallo, then Brett, and now Herrmann? With his future as a firefighter in jeopardy, One Chicago fans can’t help but wonder whether David Eigenberg is leaving Chicago Fire too and what could happen to Herrmann to cause him to leave Firehouse 51.
Eigenberg is one of five original cast members on Chicago Fire, along with Taylor Kinney (Kelly Severide); Joe Minoso (Joe Cruz); Christian Stolte (Randall “Mouch” McHolland); and Eamonn Walker (Wallace Boden.) He made his debut as Christopher Herrmann — a Senior Firefighter with Engine 51 — in the pilot of Chicago Fire. “I have a nice rapport with everybody. I want to be around but, you know, it’s Chicago Fire,” Eigenberg told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024 about how he views his legacy on Chicago Fire. “We’ve had a festivity of fantastic actors and wonderful people come through the show and they have brought amazing gifts. We’ve got some stuff going on right now, and we have some people coming back and poking their nose back into the show and it’s great to see them. And we think about our past colleagues, artists who have been with us.”
He continued, “We talk about people all the time, and we miss them we keep in touch with them. So, it’s been a great show. But it’s a show that changes and it morphs, and it has to morph. I’m incredibly grateful for every day I’m there and I will be grateful up until whenever my last day is. And I will say a kind goodbye whenever that end comes. I will be beautifully grateful on the day.”
After more than 10 years on TV, Chicago Fire has seen its fair share of exits. The series reached a record high in Season 12 when news broke that both Kara Killmer, who played paramedic Sylvie Brett, and Alberto Rosende, who played firefighter Blake Gallo, were both leaving the series. The news came after original cast member Jesse Spencer, who played Captain Matt Casey, left Chicago Fire in Season 10, as well as Kinney’s temporary exit from the series in Season 11. With so many exits from Firehouse 51 in the past couple years, there’s always worry that another retirement is on its way. Could the next be Herrmann? Read on for what we know about speculation that David Eigenberg is leaving Chicago Fire and what’s happened to Herrmann to cause so much conversation.
Is David Eigenberg leaving Chicago Fire?
Is David Eigenberg leaving Chicago Fire? Eigenberg — who plays Senior Firefighter Christopher Herrmann — hasn’t confirmed his exit from Chicago Fire, however, he strongly hinted at it in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in February 2024, in which he talked about Herrmann’s future as a firefighter at Firehouse 51 after his severe hearing loss.
“You know, everybody takes their licks on the show and on the stories, in a good way. Maybe there’s a sacrifice that happens and we got a little kick in the pants,” Eigenberg said. It’s a vulnerability because you never know when your hearing starts to deteriorate, what the arc of that will be. Although they have one-eyed firefighters in Chicago, and they have firefighters with hearing loss and hearing aids, at a certain point, if you can’t keep yourself safe and other people safe, you can’t do the job. And with Herrmann, I think it’s pretty apparent he really loves the job. He loves the people he works with and there’s just a vulnerability. And it’s also contending with your age out in the real CFD. At a certain point, you’ve got to retire.”
He continued, “And that’s real and in almost every element. And it’s real for me in this show, because it’s so physically demanding that there will be a time where — I hope the show goes on for a long, long time — and there’ll be a point where it’s like, “Yeah, I guess I gotta pass the torch.” I have a feeling Herrmann is going to be OK. So, we will see.”
Eigenberg also hinted at his exit from Chicago Fire when asked about his reaction to other cast members who get written off the show “It’s definitely multilayered when different characters die,” he said. “There are different levels, I mean there’s been a lot of sadness of departure. We all know the business. Sometimes the younger ones don’t know it all the way, and things change. You have to be built for change as an actor, but that doesn’t mean that the sorrow of the changing of the guard isn’t there.”
He continued, “I always have a saying. In a 40-year career, there have been a lot of ups and downs with my life and things change. The bottom falls out for a bunch of years and it took me forever to get started, and jobs come or they don’t come. You hope. But, there’s no crying in show business! I know I’m paraphrasing-slash-ripping off A League of Their Own, but there are tears for the love we have for each other, but just not tears for, “I didn’t get the job.”
If he was to leave Chicago Fire, however, Eigenberg hinted that he still plans to live in Chicago, much like original cast member Jesse Spencer, who played Captain Matt Casey and left Chicago Fire in Season 10 but still resides in the Windy City. “I’m here! I got my wife, my two kids here. Everybody I know on all the One Chicago shows essentially lives here. I love the city,” Eigenberg said. “We kick it around in the streets of Chicago, you know, with shooting and living here, people are always surprised! I was over at Mariano’s [a local grocery store chain] today and a couple of people were like: ‘What!’ They were asking, ‘What are you doing here?’ And I was like, ‘I’ve lived five blocks from here for like 12 years.'”
He continued, “Generally speaking, the people here, when they do say hi, are so nice 99 percent of the time. And are so appropriately brief, just calling out to say, “I love the show,” and wanting a quick picture. It’s like 30 seconds of my time and it’s not overwhelming, that’s for sure. People are very respectful, but I love the people that we make happy.”
As for what it’s like to film in Chicago, Eigenberg told The Hollywood Reporter, “I couldn’t ask for a better city to shoot in. Chicago is real. It has its beautiful parts, it has its rich parts, it has its rough parts,” he said. “We shoot on the West Side, South Side, North Side, Skokie, Berwyn and Blue Island.” He continued, “And we’ve been able to get down into all the neighborhoods and spend time with people there. I’ve had the opportunity to run the city with the real fire department on real calls, and stand back in uniform so I blend in. I’ve loved to see the first responders engage the people of need in this city and in all the neighborhoods. It can be hard, it can be beautiful and it can be sympathetic. And it’s what I hope our show incorporates and encapsulates, and it’s why I love working on it. I could not ask for a better show. We get together with our crew and, I swear, almost every other day an actor will go, ‘I could not ask for a better job.'”
Eigenberg also joked about how he plans to retire in Chicago once he’s done acting.”I moved to Illinois when I was 5. I was born in Long Island, my father was from the Bronx, my mom was from upstate. And then we moved all around the suburbs here in Chicago,” he said. “I never lived in the city. I started my career here in the city. I had a checkered past when I was 18 and then I didn’t fit into college. I went into the Marine Corps, and then when I got done with reserve active duty, I was on reserves and I went to Washburne Trade School on the South Side of Chicago.”
He continued, “And then I got into a play here in Chicago in 1983, or maybe earlier. It was about 40 years ago. So, I kicked around and started my career here, and then I came back and I am here. I may slide into my retirement here in Chicago, too.”
What happened to Herrmann on Chicago Fire?
What happened to Herrmann on Chicago Fire? Herrmann started experiencing symptoms of severe hearing loss after the Chicago Fire Season 12 premiere, “Barely Gone” when he was injured in an box explosion set up by an arsonist targeting firefighters. In the following episode, “Call Me McHolland,” firefighter Darren Ritter tries to talk to Herrmann, who doesn’t hear him. “You were right next to that box when it exploded last shift,” Ritter told Herrmann when he downplayed his hearing loss. “You can’t hear a thing. Can you?” Herrmann told Ritter, “My ears are ringing still. It’s not a big deal,” he said, to which Ritter responded, “That explosion was loud enough to do serious damage.”
Later in the episode, Herrmann explained how he can’t afford to have hearing loss because of what it would mean for a firefighter of his age. At the end of “Call Me McHolland,” a doctor informs Herrmann that he failed an auditory test, but his hearing is still in the range where he doesn’t have permanent damage and it’s correctible with hearing aids. “They will [work] for now. But there is a chance that your hearing loss may worsen, and you are right on the edge of CFD requirements. You need to be diligent and report any changes. If your hearing deteriorates and the devices stop working, you need to call my office immediately,” the doctor told him.
In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Eigenberg, who uses hearing aids in real life, explained that Herrmann’s hearing loss was written into Chicago Fire because of his own experience auditory issues. “I need them in real life, so it was written in the show because I’ve gotten to the point where I need them. I’ve been needing them for years,” he said. “I’ve been wearing them, but then this year, I sent an email to the writers and I was like, ‘You know, I’m kind of at a point where really, I just can’t hear very well. I’ve abused my body and I’ve had enough concussions and done enough things in my life where my hearing is shot.'”
He continued, “And they were kind enough to incorporate it, and I think it’s a wonderful thing in a lot of ways. Because a lot of people are using them now. It’s a very normal thing. You know, it has gotten me down sometimes, I don’t love it. But they’re a great instrument to help in life, because what happens is that if you don’t have them and you can’t hear, you kind of disengage. It takes you out of the loop. And wearing them brings you back into participation. So, I’m really glad that we’re using it.”
Another true-to-life experience for Eigenberg wa filming Herrmann’s explosion himself, no stunt double needed. “For this one, yes. It was cool!” he said. “We shot this scene across the street and they wanted to see my face, and we were doing a different stunt than we usually do, because we usually work with mortars. They’re usually a self-contained, giant steel canister that could be 3 to 4 feet high and like 24 to 30 inches across, and they’re loaded up with propane, soot and dirt. And then they pop! They’re pressurized, popping and then they ignite.”
He continued, “But this one was a controlled explosion, which is different than what we’ve done. It was a bigger fireball and there was an ignition to it, as opposed to a timed pressure release. They said, ‘We’d love to see your face,’ and it was really cool because we have the best people doing our effects with the amazing people who do our stunts. I don’t have a moment’s pause that they have our life and our health in their hearts to take care of us. And then they got really serious and were like, ‘Are you 100 percent OK with this?’ And I was like, “Yeah.” And I don’t like talking about this without making mention of our guys. Brian Peters has been doing stunts with me forever and he’s great.”
Chicago Fire is available to stream on Peacock.
Check out our gallery below for the confirmed cast members leaving Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med in 2024.
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